Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have discovered three genes that interact with cancerous results in 20% of lung cancers. The three genes are located next to each other on human chromosome 14 and two are known to play key roles in fetal lung development. According to CSHL lead investigator David Mu, “lung cancer cells in adults can reactivate genes that are normally active in the earliest stages of lung development. We identified the mutation that triggers this abnormal re-activation of developmental genes and showed that if you turn off these genes, you stop the cancer.”